Posts Tagged ‘breakfast’

Succeeding in college is a practice in keeping your mind constantly focused while trying to keep life in balance. Some of that balance comes from, shall we say, recreational activities. You’ll be pulling late nights through college, and not all of them will be focused on studying. So how do you give your brain that little kick to keep you focused through classes? There are a few fruit juices and smoothies that will do the trick, and I’m sure you’ll find plenty of juice or smoothie bars near your campus to get your daily fix. 1. First you want to drink smoothies that are high in vitamin C. You can even boost the effectiveness of vitamin C with some beta-carotene, which shouldn’t be hard as it is found in orange peels, carrots and mangos. These are all popular additions to many styles of fruit smoothies and the benefits of vitamin C are michael kors bags ukabsolutely important to keeping you healthy and focused throughout classes. Vitamin C is a huge help for your immune system, and even in your youth, that system is going to be working at less than optimal rates if you live the traditional college experience. Even if you aren’t out partying, and instead going to school as a family man or woman, you’ll probably often be up late studying. Again, vitamin C is going to keep you feeling your best. 2. Anything with a B vitamin included, especially B6 and B12, will boost your energy and help keep you focused. B6 is the vitamin found most frequently at juice shops, often times as an add-in. If you are willing to go green though, take a chance on a kale-based juice. It may sound a bit rough, but if it is made the right way you’ll mix strong citrus based flavors with the juice of kale or spinach to offset the bitter taste. The best juice bars will help you mix the perfect drink to make sure that you aren’t drinking something you have to drink, and instead pining for another trip to their shop. 3. Finally, you are going to want some natural carbs. The good news is that most fruits and vegetables provide a nice amount of carbs to boost your energy and can help the body function at its best. While a Hershey’s bar may help give you a quick boost of energy because of all the sugar you are taking in, natural sugars found in fruits will do much more for you in the long run. This isn’t just because the carbs are coming with another set of vitamins and minerals, but because your body will have to work less to break down the natural stuff. There isn’t one perfect miracle drink to make college easy. College will always require a significant amount of work, but staying healthy, focused, and above all awake, can easily be handled through intelligent use of natural fruits. Juice bars aren’t so popular around college campuses by mistake – they are there because they work. Talk to the guys and gals at the shop, they will get you the perfect mix. Mike D. is a writer for BestOnlineCollege.org (http://www.bestonlinecollege.org/). To stay healthy and fit, why not consider an online degree? Take a look at this site to learn more.

Fast Food

Instead of driving through the closest fast food drive thru window, consider making your own version of what you’d buy. For example, say you make a habit of driving to McDonald’s to buy 2 of their Egg McMuffin. make your own at home using healthier ingredients. Or if you end up using the same ingredients, say an egg, at least you’ll know where the eggs comes from that you’re using. Use a whole wheat or whole grain English Muffin, an egg from a high-quality cage-free, free-range chicken. And you can use any of your favorite cheeses. Right now my favorite cheeses are extra sharp cheddar and Havarti. Yummy. Last but not least, or you can omit all together. If you cook the egg perfectly you won’t need it, unless you like the extra flavor a condiment adds. Or take Jack in the Box’s Steak and Egg Burrito. Swap out the white tortilla for a whole wheat, whole grain one. Scramble your own yummy high-quality eggs, add the type of protein you want along with a Mild Cheddar and Pepper Jack Cheese. We think you should simply omit adding the Hash Browns, unless you want to make some yourself, which although is a little time-consuming is quite a delicious treat (especially using our recipe!). Their burrito also comes with chipotle sauce on it and a side of fire roasted salsa, which is quite a lot of flavor! maybe even too much so maybe choosing one over the other is a good idea. Or maybe you’re one of the people who have eaten breakfast at Taco Bell now that they’ve recently jumped into the fast food breakfast arena. Their breakfast menu basically consists of white tortillas, eggs, sausage, steak, bacon, potatoes, cheeses, and has browns. All of these things are so easy to buy and cook yourself. Although it will take your time to make your breakfast vs. buying it, the cost of the meal will be considerably less and the best part is that it will taste so much better and be better for you! If you want to experiment and change it up a little, instead of using a tortilla or an English muffin, make some homemade biscuits to put your breakfast foods on. Delicious! (I need to add some biscuit recipes now!)

About Fast Food

Just a quick note about how easy it is to get addicted to fast food. When you grow up eating fast food, you’ll develop a taste for eating this kind of food. The more you eat fast food, the more you get used to eating it, and the more addicted you become. There are even studies that back this up. Although for many people the thought of not eating fast food anymore is probably unthinkable, I say this to you – try to make at home what you like to buy from your favorite fast food restaurants. Make sure you buy quality as well as fresh ingredients so you can enjoy what food is really supposed to taste like. I used to eat fast food all the time until I started trying to make the effort to eat healthier. Since I stopped going out to eat so much and instead ate fresh foods, my taste buds began to change and I began to crave these healthier foods. When I would eventually get a craving for some fast food, I would go and indulge myself but found that because I was now more used to eating fresh foods, the fast foods began to taste, well sorry, but gross. It’s all about getting yourself through that transitional stage – from eating unhealthy fast food items to eating fresh and healthy foods that you can make yourself.

Breakfast Benefits

If you eat a healthy breakfast each and every day, you can expect to receive some, or even all of the following benefits! 1. More energy throughout the day. 2. Improved concentration for school/work. 3. Lower cholesterol levels. 4. Helps manage your weight. 5. Can reduce the risk of heart disease. 6. Increases your metabolic rate. 7. Helps lower your blood pressure. 8. Helps prevent obesity. Don’t make excuses! Many people tend to not eat a nutritious breakfast, or even any breakfast at all, because they are — too busy, too tired, don’t have enough time, not hungry, consider eating breakfast not important or simply don’t know how to make a healthy breakfast. If you find that you are not eating a healthy breakfast please consider the above reasons for why you should. If you need help or guidance, feel free to contact me and I will offer some advice in hopes that you will do whatever it takes to make sure you start eating breakfast -which truly is the most important meal of the day, and for many reasons! This is essentially why I made this website. To hlep people make healthy food choices when it comes to breakfast… Good Luck!

Blueberries

I love blueberries! They are not only full of flavor, they are chock full of nutrition. Breakfast time is when you need to get some nutrition into your body so you can feel good & give your body the energy it needs to start the day off right. Blueberries have tons of Vitamin C, are high in manganese, have lots of dietary fiber, lots of antioxidants, and are low in calories. The nutritional qualities of this special fruit are simply some of the best found in fruits. If you live somewhere in which fresh blueberries aren’t available, simply buy them frozen. Frozen blueberries are flash frozen (as all fruits are) so they still contain all the essential nutrients that will keep your feeling strong and healthy.

Recipe

This Blueberry Smoothie recipe is one that you will love so much you’re sure to add it to your list of favorite healthy breakfast meals. It’s easy to make and great for those mornings when you’re running late because you can throw all the ingredients into a blender, blend away, and then take it with you.

Directions

Simply toss all the above ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into your favorite container, preferable one that keeps drinks super cold so the smoothie doesn’t start to melt and separate as smoothies tend to do.

Suggestions

You can add blueberries to a variety of breakfast foods. Sprinkle them on top of your waffles, pancakes, or french toast. Or put them on your yogurt, along with some flax seeds, chia seeds, and granola.

Banana

A banana is a great fruit. They’re easy to take with you when on the go, they don’t make a mess when you’re eating them, provide lots of essential nutrition, and just simply taste good! A banana is full of potassium, which is really good for helping your muscles function properly (very important for the busy lifestyle of a teenager!).

Nutritional Benefits

Eating a banana a day provides a wealth of nutritional benefits! Bananas are low in fat and calories, high in vitamins B6 & C, a good source of manganese and fiber, as well as providing a little bit of iron, calcium, vitamins A & E, folate, and carotene. Studies also show that teenagers who don’t eat a healthy breakfast are more apt to be overweight, which is not a good start for them as then enter their adult years. Help your teen eat right by making sure they eat breakfast – the most important meal of the day!!

Banana Bread

Teenagers are almost always in a hurry, making this Banana Bread recipe one that they will not only like but one that will provide them with lots of nutrition for a great breakfast when they’re in a hurry. Make this Banana Bread recipe the night before and pack it into a convenient and earth-friendly to-go container that your teenager picks out so they will use it.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Then mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl until well blended. Add rest of ingredients and stir gently until thoroughly mixed together. Spread in to well-greased *loaf pan (one large or two small) and bake for @ 35 minutes. Banana Bread is done when you enter a toothpick or fork into the thickest part and it comes out clean. *In order to help the Banana Bread cook evenly, when putting the batter into the loaf pan, spread the batter so it’s even and not higher in the middle. Or use two smaller pans to ensure even and thorough cooking. Sprinkle Cinnamon & Pumpkin Spice on top before baking.

Toppings

Although Banana Bread tastes great plain if you make it just right, there are quite a few options you can add on top of your Banana Bread for even more flavor. When I was growing up, we would put a pat off butteron top and let it melt in, which was (and still is as I occasionally still eat Banana Bread this way!) a great treat. Sprinkle some nuts on top for extra richness and texture. Toasted walnuts or pecans are a favorite.

Banana Tips

–Use a banana instead of oils or butter when making a recipe. –A banana is usually one of the first fruits introduced to babies when they start eating solid foods as they are easy on the stomach and thus easy to digest. –Add in some blueberries for extra nutrition and yumminess!

Quiche

Quiche makes a really great (and healthy!) breakfast meal because it’s not only so easy to make, you can add your own choice of ingredients making it your very own healthy breakfast that will keep you feeling good throughout the day. A quiche can be described as an open-faced pastry with a filling that consists of eggs and cheese as the main ingredients. A quiche is a French food dish that has been around for hundreds of years, and can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Quiche is a very versatile dish! You can make quiche with a crust or without, it’s up to you! You can cheat (as many of us do!) and buy a store bought pie crust, or you can make your own with the recipe below.

Easy Quiche Recipe

This is one of my favorite quiche recipes because it’s so simple to make. You basically add all the ingredients into one big bowl and then pour it into a well-greased pan to bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Directions

Add the eggs and milk together in a large bowl and mix well. Add the cheese along with any or all ingredients you want in the quiche, and gently mix well again. Pour into a well-greased 9 x 9 pan, and put into a 375° oven for @ 45 minutes. Quiche is done when it is a nice golden brown on the top and fairly firm to the touch.

Pie Crust

Mix 1 cup of flour with @ 2/3 stick of unsalted cold butter (cut into small cubes) and 1/2 tsp salt. Add in a little less than 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup of cold water. Mix well and then add the egg. Use your fingers or a pastry knife for best results. Put in fridge for about half an hour. Take out, roll out, and press into pan. Easy!

Tips

If you want to watch your cholesterol, use an egg substitute. If you’re vegan, use almond or rice milk instead of cow’s milk, as well as a vegan cheese instead of regular cheese. If you’re a vegan or vegetarian, use vegan bacon. or soy sausages.

Food

We all know that we need to eat food to live. What’s important is the types of food that you choose to eat. You’ll need to make sure that (at least most of the time!) you choose to eat a food that is full of the nutrients so that your body gets the nutrients it needs so you can feel good throughout the whole day.

Super Foods

Super foodsare foods that are high in nutrition yet are low in calories. These super foods are foods that can help you stay healthy, lose weight, are easy to use in recipes, and are best of all – delicious! It’s important that you do your best to make healthy food choices, as well as trying to incorporate a variety of these healthy foods into your everyday diet.

List of Super Foods

(for breakfast)

Blueberries

There are lots of easy ways to add blueberries to your breakfast meal! This super food is amcheap michael kors uk perfect addition to both hot and cold cereals. Or pour a handful of blueberries on top of pancakes, waffles, and french toast. Blueberries taste fantastic on top of non-fat yogurt.

Non-Fat Yogurt

Eating non-fat yogurtis a great super food and is a great way to get a high dose of protein, as well as calcium, B-vitamins, potassium, and magnesium. Non-fat yogurt also contains probiotics, which are good bacteria that helps keep your digestive tract healthy as well as helping keep your immune system strong.

Eggs

Eggs are a consider to be a super food because it contains lots of nutrients all neatly packed in a little oval package. The versatility that eggsoffer are also one of the reason why this super food is so popular!

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a super food that although is not usually associated with a breakfast meal, makes a great addition to a variety of breakfast meals. Simply cut them up and bake them in a 420° oven for about 25 minutes. Drizzle them with olive oil and add a dash of salt while being sure to turn them once about 15 minutes in.

Berries

Berries are one of the super foods that are super easy to add to just about any breakfast meal. There are so many various types of berries – blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries – the list goes on and on.

Syrups

There are quite a lot of syrups available to pour over your favorite breakfast food, such as pancakes, waffles, and french toast. Maple syrup is said to be the #1 syrup that people choose to pour over their breakfast meal, and I believe it! It’s pure and simple flavor tends to highlight a variety of breakfast foods. Although the price of pure maple syrup may/will be higher, it’s well worth it! There’s also blueberry syrup, boysenberry syrup, apricot syrup, blackberry syrup, cherry syrup, butter pecan syrup, strawberry syrup, and more. So as you can see, there is definitely a lot of choices when it comes to choosing a syrup to add some yummy flavor to your breakfast meal!

Syrup Ingredients

Syrup is basically made up of sugar and water. Additional ingredients are added depending on the brand and flavor. Be sure to avoid any syrups that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS), which is banned in Europe due to its unhealthy side effects such as obesity and diabetes.

Syrup Substitutes

If you don’t want to use regular syrups, you can use *honey, corn syrup or molasses. michael kors bags uk If you want to try and avoid the high amount of sugars that come in most syrups, try a sugar-free syrup, of which some are actually pretty good! If you want to avoid syrups altogether, try a sprinkling of powdered sugar. Or use your favorite jam or jelly, again making sure the ingredients don’t include HFCS. Or add some fresh fruit (preferably from your local Farmers Market), which is the healthiest option and naturally sweet. One delicious fruit you can add to your breakfast meal is Blueberries! Blueberries are full of nutrition and go perfectly with a variety of breakfast foods! Or you can create a fruit syrup, which consists of bringing to a boil 1/4 cup agave syrup, 3 tbsp corn starch, and about 2 cups of water (be sure to stir constantly so doesn’t stick to the pan). Once the mixture begins to boil, add 2 to 3 cups of your favorite fruit (you can puree it if you want, or leave it chunky) and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. *Important! Don’t give honey to any child that’s under the age of 1.

French Toast

I seem to have a lot of favorites when it comes to eating breakfast! French toast is another one of my all-time favorites so this particular french toast recipe is going to be one that’s simple, or in other words for kids as well as teens. When I asked my 9-year-old grandson what some of his favorite breakfast foods were, simple French Toast was listed in the top 3 (blueberry muffins was first as he just had some that very morning, and pancakes came in at a quick third). A French Toast breakfast is always a treat! It’s so easy to make a simple French Toast recipe that not only tastes delicious, you can add your own flair to it and make it something special. (After you practice a few times, maybe you can make it for mom and/or dad sometime as a surprise. It’ll definitely score you some brownie points!)

French Toast Recipe

The following French Toast recipe is one that both kids and teens will love! It’s simple yet has a lot of flavor, and is really easy to make. Ingredients: 3 large (cage-free) eggs 1/4 tsp of vanilla a dash of cinnamon a dash of sugar Directions: Heat a pan on medium heat. Add a little butter to cover the bottom of the pan so the French Toast bread won’t stick. (Olive oil works too, just not as well as good old-fashioned butter!) Add all ingredients together and mix well. Dip the bread of your choosing into the egg mixture and let the excess drip off, and then quickly and gently place into the pan. Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes per side. You’ll know when it’s done when it turns a beautiful golden color. If you like you food more on the well-done side, simply cook for an additional minute or two. Place on a plate and proceed to make it your very own by adding any and all of your favorite toppings! Powdered sugar, fruit, nuts, and syrups are some of the more popular French Toast toppings.

Syrup

If you’re eating French Toast, syrupis a must! Some people like just a little drizzle while others like to drench their French Toast into their favorite syrup (watch your calories!).

Bread

When it comes to choosing the type of bread you want to use when you make your French Toast recipe, you can surely use your current, favorite bread. Know that the bread should be thick/strong enough so it doesn’t fall apart when you put it into the egg mixture. Leaving the bread out for an hour or so so that it gets a little dry will help keep it together. A few breads that are great for making French Toast include sourdough bread, whole-wheat/grain bread, brioche bread, and cinnamon bread. Or try banana bread for a whole new experience! There’s also French Toast bread, which most stores sell that is made specifically for French Toast as the slices are cut extra thick.

Fresh eggs are the best! I love eating eggs that are scrambled, fried, over-easy, poached, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, hmmm… am I forgetting something? Eggs are so versatile, making them one of my favorite breakfast foods, for sure!

- Brown vs. White Did you know the only difference between brown and white eggs is the color? There is no nutritional difference when it comes to brown and white eggs. Brown may cost more simply due to the fact that brown hens are larger (when compared to white hens) and thus require more food.

Egg Health

So are eggs healthy to eat? The general answer is yes, if they come from happy chickens, as well as being eaten in moderation. Of course, different people could have different nutritional needs, which makes it necessary for everyone to fully understand and thus be aware of their own particular nutritional needs.

Nutrition in Eggs

One large egg contains about 70 calories, of which 45 of those calories are derived from fat. Small amounts of sodium, vitamin A, vitamin B12, riboflavin, calcium, and iron, as well as a few other vitamins and minerals are also included.

Protein in Eggs

One large egg contains about 6 grams of protein, which is almost 15% of the recommended daily amount of protein. Protein is an essential nutrient that should make up roughly 25% to 35% of your daily caloric intake.

Eggs are high in cholesterol, meaning that if you need to watch your cholesterol intake, you’ll want to limit how many you eat both daily and weekly. One large egg contains about 211 mg of cholesterol, which is nearly 70% of one’s recommended daily intake! So what is Cholesterol exactly? Cholesterol is a fat-like, waxy substance that is made in the body’s cells, the liver, as well as found in certain types of foods (dairy products). Although the body needs some cholesterol, too much can lead to heart disease.

Bottom Line

Eating an egg for breakfast, or for that matter any time of the day, can help give you some of the essential nutrients that your body requires to keep it fit and strong. Be sure to check out some of the breakfast recipes in order to find out some new and delicious ways you can eat this whole food.